Andrews council wants more information on park work bids

Monday, August 17, 2009 7:16 AM

The Andrews Town Council on Monday, Aug. 10, tabled a motion to award a contract to remove concrete from its park so members could determine exactly what each bid contains and if they need to be modified.

The bids to remove the concrete from behind the pavilion came in at $3,000 each from TW Excavating, of Andrews, and Zahm Excavating, of Huntington, and $4,400 from Cripe Earth Services, of Huntington County.

Council member Fran Felts made a motion to accept the bid from TW Excavating, due to the fact it is a local firm, but member Ray Tackett suggested that TW first agree to all of the terms of the Zahm bid. The board then tabled the process to allow the members to meet with the bidders at the park to clarify what each bid contains.

The board was told that the pavilion roof at the park had been completed by the fire de-partment, with Rich Wright doing the electrical work.

Clerk-Treasurer Bill Johnson informed the council that 19 violation letters had been mailed to owners of properties which are in violation of the town's nuisance ordinance. Of those 19, nine have been abated, the town has mowed one site and has a work order to mow a second, and the remainder were in the 10-day waiting period before the town can take action.

The discussion of the 2010 budget was rescheduled to Monday, Aug. 17, to allow members a better opportunity to review the budget and a chance to question department heads on their requests.

Council President Karl Shockome earlier in the meeting had convened a public hearing to take input from residents on the budget.

Town Operations Manager/Marshal Van Juillerat informed the council of the recent spate of burglaries and asked that residents lock their doors when they are away from their homes.

Johnson informed the council of an agreement that the town had entered into with the United States Census Bureau to assist that agency with a full accounting of all the town's residents. He explained that some of the town's tax revenue is based on its population.

Tackett informed the council that he has a lot of questions about the status of the compost area. The council at its last meeting decided to close the area due to smoke issues with the last major burn. Tackett stated that if the area is kept closed, local citizens would have nowhere to put their yard trash.

Council will discuss this further at the Aug. 17 meeting.

Town resident Carol Sunderman asked about the drainage problem that exists each time it rains. She stated that rain water washes out the ditch in front of her house at 257 S. Main St. Juillerat stated that the town would raise the drain cover when time permitted, but noted he did not think that would totally alleviate the problem.